Houston is on the verge of likely the second accident, the name of which is mosquitoes. This is due to the fact that after the floods the area will still be swamped, and any standing water is always the appearance of mosquitoes and sandflies. They can even be collected in the piles of destroyed furniture, if there are cracks where water has filtered.
«Soon to be a lot of mosquitoes, we notice it,» says the Washington Post Charles Allen, an entomologist from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
According to Allen, mosquitoes can cause disease outbreaks. Insects that live on the coast of Texas, are carriers of many dangerous (and sometimes fatal) diseases, e.g., virus, zika or West Nile fever.
As told by the state Governor, Greg Abbott, on site affected by the floods, has already begun spraying repellent. The use of specific aircraft.
But the scale of the «mosquito problem» can manifest themselves immediately, but within a few weeks. So says the Executive Director of the County health Department Harris Umar Shah.
«The flood washed away the larvae,» he explains. «Therefore, there is a period of time when the mosquitoes disappear. Then comes a time of standing water. For people who are returning to their destroyed houses, wet floors, furnishings and walls – the last thing they think. But to mosquitoes it is a real freedom».
According to Shah, literally a month and a half of the mosquito season would be over, and the need to spray repellent would disappear until next year.
«But Harvey changed the rules of the game,» he says.
